After the release of their debut in 2009, critics had lots of nice things to say about the San Francisco band Girls. Here’s a band that came with a strong DIY attitude, wore their influences proudly and penned songs that surely connected with audiences. On Father, Son, Holy Ghost the band’s second full album, it’s hard not to echo those praises yet again. Frontman Christopher Owens and band have recorded an album that lives in the present, but brings with it a comfortable feel of the past.

While Father, Son, Holy Ghost is the band’s second album it will surely still be an introduction to many. And it is a great place to start as you get to know this band. What you quickly learn to love about Girls is how honest the band is. Start with Owens. He’s as direct a lyricist as you’ll find and addresses personal topics like love and sadness head-on. Whether he’s yearning for hope on a song like “Forgiveness” or trying to figure out how to move on from a relationship in a song like “Saying I Love You,” Owens is anything but cryptic. For a songwriter to totally give himself up, like you hear on these songs, well its hard not to applaud such openness.

The more you dive into this album, the more promise you hear. Even in comparison to their debut, the band has evolved their sound dramatically. The addition of guitarist John Anderson opens up a song like “Vomit” (more appealing than the title suggests) with a shredding guitar solo. Seven of the albums tracks even feature a 3 piece gospel choir. The band proves to be versatile on Father, Son, Holy Ghost and at the same time worthy of all the praise.

It’s understandable why fans get a bit antsy whenever a band decides to spend some time apart. Too often it suggests that we try to read between the lines, whether there’s something to unfold or not. Contrary to some reports, in the case of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah the idea that the band was taking ‘a break’ was as literal as it sounds. Almost four years since their release Some Loud Thunder, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reunites for the release of their third studio album Hysterical.

Hysterical proves a point. And that is music is best made not on a timeline but rather as inspiration strikes. While fans of CYHSY may have been clamoring for new music these last few years, this latest batch of songs is worth the wait. After a lap through Hysterical you can’t help but think that the perspective of working on outside projects individually combined with the time apart only helped to energize the band. Take a song like “Same Mistake”, which opens the new album. It captures so much of what we love about CYHSY, from their infectious melodies to Alec Ounsworth’s quirky delivery and wordplay. Add to that a reinvigorated sense of identity, and it soars.

More so than on their first two records, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is confident in their sound. Where songs like “Maniac” and the title-track “Hysterical” follow the newly energized state of “Same Mistake”, Ounsworth and company showcase depth on Hysterical. There are contemplative moments such as on the song “Misspent Youth” and the album closer “Adam’s Song”. All it all settles in comfortably together on the album. While they may have never truly went away, you can’t help but applaud the return of CYHSY on Hysterical.

Listen to the tracks and buy this CD, Hysterical at Amazon.com. Your purchase that starts here, supports public radio station, WXPN.